I found myself today in the middle of a little debate over who was the greatest baseball player of all time, Babe Ruth or Ty Cobb. If the result is measured by the monetary value of each one's personal memorabilia, the winner hands down is Babe Ruth.
The Sultan of Swat had an unbelievably good sale of his artifacts this past week. One of his hats sold for over $300,000. A baseball he and Lou Gehrig autographed sold for over $100,000.
The real eye popper, though, is the fact his 1914 rookie card is expected to sell for over $650,000. It last sold for over $400,000 in 2013. It is considered the grand kahuna of baseball cards.
Here's why I am fascinated by this. Over 20 years ago Ruth and I saw a Babe Ruth rookie card on sale in Fort Smith AR for $15,000. One week after this, it was stolen. It was never retrieved. Had I known then what I know now I would have mortgaged my house to buy that card. Oh well. Maybe next time.
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